Colin Ungaro became President of the Magazine Division at Cincinnati-based F+W in early 2007, and over the next five years, he is looking to significantly bolster F+W's online and events revenues.  Before F+W, Ungaro was President of Reed Business International's new product division. Earlier, he held senior management titles with IDG and McGraw-Hill, Inc.

F+W, founded in the early 1900s, publishes more than 50 special-interest magazines across numerous consumer enthusiast categories. Those titles range from Antique Journal, Coins Magazine and Deer & Deer Hunting to Log Homes Illustrated, Toy Shop and Writer's Digest. Since 1999, F+W has increased fourfold in revenues, in part due to the acquisitions of nearly a dozen magazines or magazine publishing companies. Titles acquired during that span include Horticulture in 2002, Scuba Diving in 2004 and Scrapbook Retailer in 2006.

Given F+W's breadth, Ungaro opted to answer our questions by drawing upon the expertise of the editorial staffs from its niche magazines.

Q. Do you notice an uptick in collector interest, not to mention pricing, whenever a classic car turns up in a film or a TV series—such as Starsky & Hutch and the James Bond flicks, and Dukes of Hazzard and Miami Vice on both the big and small screens?

A. Interest in James Bond's Aston Martin DB5 and the Dukes General Lee is "always strong, thanks to the booming DVD market," according to Merry Dudley, Editor of our magazine Toy Cars & Models. "Models based on famous movie cars, like the Mustang and Charger in Bullitt, 'Eleanor' in Gone in Sixty Seconds or the Plymouth Fury in Christine, will always be a little more popular than a regular 1968 Mustang or 1968 Charger." 

She also points out, "Another phenomenon that affects collector interest is the sale of the cars actually used in a television show or film. When Dukes of Hazzard star John Schneider listed his General Lee on eBay a few weeks ago, collector interest in famous TV cars as a whole increased.

That also brought about a renewed discussion of the most famous TV cars of all time. A few years ago, TV Land voted the General Lee No. 1, but most model car collectors would disagree. "The most popular television car has to be the Batmobile from the 1960s Batman series," according to Dudley. A Corgi Jr. Batmobile toy with Batboat and trailer from the '60s recently sold for $1,125 on eBay, she adds, and now Mattel has the rights to produce the TV Batmobile in its Hot Wheels lineup — "impossible to find at stores and purchasing one online will cost you $20," she says. "Exclusive version from Comic Con will cost you $40. One, signed by [Batmobile customizer] George Barris, just sold for $960 on eBay."

Q. There seems to be a resurgence of '80s toys like Transformers, G.I. Joe, Masters of the Universe and Cabbage Patch Kids, with new versions geared for a new generation. What's all that doing to the market value of the original toys and action figures of two decades ago?

A. "That has meant extra attention on those original toy properties," according to Tom Bartsch, Editor of F+W's Toy Shop. "The 1980s toys in the best condition, and especially in their original packaging, will see the most benefit," he feels. "Collectors don't want beat-up 1980s toys—they already had that. Now they want the best that's available."

In his opinion, "Toys from the '80s are going to keep getting more valuable. Toy auction houses that wouldn't touch the stuff five years ago now offer them with 1930s tin classics. If nothing else, the new stuff will rekindle more people to seek out the older stuff they grew up with."

As for whether the new products hurt the originals' value, Batsch says, "Not really. They serve two different audiences. The collector of 1980s toys isn't going to buy the new stuff with the same collecting mentality as the '80s toys. And kids aren't interested in buying ‘old’ toys."

Q . What impact does the death of someone like James Brown, Ray Charles, Johnny Cash or Buck Owens have on record collectors, and is the impact even greater when there's also a biographical film?

A. According to our Goldmine columnist Dave Thompson, "There's not much effect. When Elvis died, that was a phenomenon. And when John Lennon died. I can't think of any other who could cause a stampede. I was working at a record store when Elvis died, and there was a long line waiting to get in. and we sold out of Elvis records in 10 minutes! I don't think the death of someone has a huge impact, except people will put their stuff on eBay, trying to get fans to pay silly prices for it. I don't even think the death of Paul McCartney would make much of a difference today. We're so used to rock stars dying."

Q. What are blogging and the new media revolution in general doing to the world of journalism and creative writing?

A. Many agree with Tuff Stuff's Steve Bloedow, who says, "I think everything has just become less formal than it was before. In blogging, it's more of a conversational way of writing, so AP style and similar guidelines are essentially thrown out the window in trying to 'connect' with your reader."

Horticulture Editor Meg Lynch says, "Both are increasing the pace of journalism—to positive and negative effects. On the plus side, I've been able to find some great writers because they blog, and our editors' website blogs have allowed us to react to current events faster than our print schedule and format allow. On the down side, creative writing is an art, and any art deserves time. It's a challenge to get good writing up to the speed the Internet sets."